This Is the End
This Is the End is a 2013 American disaster comedy film written and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg in their directorial debut, and stars Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson. The movie centers around a group of real life actors playing versions of themselves which are to varying degrees fictional, in the aftermath of a global apocalypse. The film was released on June 12, 2013, and was a critical and commercial success. The success of the film led to a re-release on September 6, 2013. Emma Watson has a cameo appearance in the film as herself. Plot Jay Baruchel arrives in Los Angeles to visit with old friend and fellow actor Seth Rogen, who invites him to attend a housewarming party hosted by James Franco. At the raucous party, many celebrities and others drink, take drugs, and have sex. Jay is uncomfortable being around so many people that he hardly knows well and leaves the party to buy some cigarettes, accompanied by Seth. At a convenience store, beams of blue light emerge from the sky and carry away numerous people. Seth and Jay flee to James' home amid explosions, vehicular crashes and mass chaos. A powerful earthquake occurs and the guests rush outside to find the Hollywood Hills on fire. A large crack opens in the earth and many celebrities fall into it and die. Seth, Jay, James, Jonah Hill, and Craig Robinson survive and learn that the largest earthquake in California history has struck Los Angeles. Believing that they will soon be rescued, the five take inventory of the available supplies, including food and water, various drugs, and a pistol. They set up a ration system, board up the doors and windows and await help. The next morning, Danny McBride, who crashed the party and fell asleep, wakes up first. Ignorant of the crisis, he wastes much of the supplies and disbelieves the others' accounts until a desperate outsider seeking aid is decapitated in their presence. The men pass the time by taking many drugs and filming a homemade sequel to the 2008 film Pineapple Express, which most of the group had appeared in. Tensions rise, however, due to various conflicts, including Jay and Seth's growing estrangement, and the others' skepticism of Jay's belief that the disasters might be the Apocalypse predicted in the Book of Revelation. Later, Emma Watson, who also survived the party, returns to the house. However, after misunderstanding a conversation, Emma believes that the men plan to rape her and leaves the house, taking all of their drinks with her. Craig is chosen to travel outside to the basement for water, but finds the door locked and returns after an encounter with an unknown being. Craig's experience with the creature causes him to believe Jay's theory of the Apocalypse. The group reaches the basement by digging through the floor and they find the water, but Danny wastes much of it out of spite. The group unanimously votes Danny out of the house. Franco gives him the revolver, which Danny then attempts to use to kill the others, only to find out it's filled with blanks. Before leaving, Danny ridicules his friends, and reveals that Jay had been to Los Angeles in recent months, a fact which he concealed from Seth. Jonah gently chastises Jay, and Jay punches him in the face. Later that night, Jonah prays for Jay to die and is raped by a demon. The next day, Craig volunteers to explore a neighboring home for supplies with Jay. Meanwhile, James and Seth find Jonah unconscious from what looks like an LBS episode, but he wakes up possessed. Jonah chases James and Seth while Craig and Jay flee a demonic creature at the neighbor's house. The group subdues Jonah and tie him up, but during an exorcism attempt, Jay and Seth get into a fight and knock a candle over, engulfing Jonah and the house in flames. When the remaining four flee outside, James suggests taking his Prius to his home in Malibu, but a winged demon has roosted on his garage and is fixated on them. Craig volunteers to sacrifice himself as a distraction. The plan succeeds and Craig is raptured. As the others escape, they realize that Craig was saved because he sacrificed himself and it means there is still hope for them. Suddenly, the car is t-boned by an armored motor home filled with cannibals, led by Danny. James volunteers to sacrifice himself in order to save the others from being eaten and get raptured. However, James starts taunting Danny as he ascends into Heaven and is left back on Earth as a result. Danny and his cannibals eat James alive and then chase after Seth and Jay. When a colossal-sized Satan approaches them, Jay apologizes to Seth for ruining their friendship and the two embrace while preparing to die together. This results in Jay being raptured, but not Seth. Seth grabs onto Jay's hand while Jay is ascending into Heaven. However, this causes them to slow down and descend, their combined weights being too heavy for the beam of light. Seth insists that he let go in order to spare Jay. As Seth falls, another blue beam appears and he also ascends to Heaven. In Heaven, Jay and Seth reunite with Craig, who is now an angel. He tells the two that Heaven is a place where any desire comes true. After Seth wishes for a Segway, Jay wishes for the Backstreet Boys and the band performs "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" while everyone dances along. Cast *James Franco *Jonah Hill *Seth Rogen *Jay Baruchel *Danny McBride *Craig Robinson *Michael Cera *Emma Watson *Mindy Kaling *David Krumholtz *Christopher Mintz-Plasse *Rihanna *Martin Starr *Paul Rudd *Channing Tatum *Kevin Hart *Aziz Ansari *Jason Segel (uncredited) *Jason Trost as JTRO (uncredited) *Brandon Trost as a cannibal (uncredited) *Brian Huskey as Headless Man *Backstreet Boys Critical Reception This Is the End received generally positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 83%, based on 206 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's consensus reads: "Energetic, self-deprecating performances and enough guffaw-inducing humor make up for the flaws in This Is the End 's loosely written script." On Metacritic, the film has an average rating of 67 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a letter grade of "A", saying: "You could sit through a year's worth of Hollywood comedies and still not see anything that's genuinely knock-your-socks-off audacious. But This Is the End (opening June 12) truly is. It's the wildest screen comedy in a long time and also the smartest, the most fearlessly inspired and the snort-out-loud funniest." Brian D. Johnson of Maclean's wrote: There could be worse ways to experience the apocalypse than with a party of stoned celebrities at James Franco's house. For one thing, his epic art collection can be used to board up the cracking walls against demons and zombies. That's the screwball scenario of This Is the End...The film unfolds as a profanely funny showbiz parody. But with perfect timing, it also sends up a genre that has recently gone viral at the multiplex: the apoca-blockbuster. At the other end of the scale, Canada's The Globe and Mail compared the film to the interminable wait for a cancelled bus, giving it one and a half stars out of five, referring to the actors in the film as "the lazy, the privileged and the mirthless" Videos Category:Movies